Refrigerator lining



Sept. 22, 1925. 1,554,922

W. G. SEEGER ET AL REFRIGERATOR LINING File y 21, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' 1 292] 5 Fig.2

Jrruemans: IVE/fer" 6 Jeeyen Gus/avail. Seeyei."

Meir Ffiarney Patented Sept. 22, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT mm.

wanna a. mean. AND eus'ravn n. SEEGEB, or sit. rAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNORS no serene mnrenga'ron comrnmr, A CORPORATION or mmmsom.

' REFRIGERATOR LINING-,

Animation filed m 21, 1921. serial 110.471,!521.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WALTER G. Serena and GUSTAVE R. SEEGER, residents of St. Paul, county of Ramsey, and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Refrigerator Linings. of-

which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to refrigerator lin-, ings and has for its object to provide a refrigerator lining havingvan ice shelf therein, which lining and shelf are adapted to be covered over their entire exposed surfaces with a coating of enamel.

Another object of the invention is to form the ice shelf of a double construction so as to prevent sweating. within the food com-.

partment of the refrigerator.

Another object of the invention is to form the lining and ice shelf together with the supporting means thereof integral with one another so that the same may be readily coated with enamel on all of its exposed surface.

A still further object is to provide openings in the lining which are adapted to register with the open space between the members of the ice shelf so as to facilitate welding the same to the lining.

A still further object is to position the ice shelf and form the same so that an air passageway may be provided through the same and to provide means for receiving the condensation within the ice shelf and direct the condensation upon the iceshelf.--

The full advantages of our invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof and are particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, illustrating the application of our invention in one form Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator lining constructed in accordance with our invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the method of attaching the lining to'the casing of a refrigerator.

Fig. 5 is a developed view drawn to a smaller scale, of the blank from which the side walls of the lining properare made.

Fig. 6 is a part sectional. view similar to Figure 3, showing a modified form of the mvention.

Our invention, as best shown in Figure 1,

is formed from a blank'of sheet metal such as indicated in Figure 5. This blank is bent over at right angles in parallel lines as indicated at 10, 11, 12, and 13, with curved bends to form a shell member A adapted to enclose the interior of the refrigerator on.

three sides at 14,- 15, and 16 and to form projecting edges 17 and 18 by means of which the lining can be attached to the outer casing in amanner to be later described. After the blank has been formed the same has attached to it a bottom 19 and 'a top 20 both of which are identical in construction and which are made from a single piece of sheet iron having the corners turned over to meet the upper and lower edges of the shell A. After these parts have been properly positioned relative to one another the same are welded together at the said edges to form .an integral one piecejlining which encloses the refrigerator on five sides and which is formed with all of the corners uniformly rounded off to eliminate crevices in which dirt may lodge when the refrigerator is'in use. Between the forward edges of the top 20 and the bottom 19 is secured by welding, an upright 21 which supports the ice chamber in a manner to be later described. The forward edges of the top 20 and the bottom 19 together with the upright 21 are-provided with projecting lips 22, 23, 24., 25, 26 and 27 which in conjunction with the lips 17 and 18 of the side members 14 and 16 form a continuous peri- Inetric flange extending around the various openings in the front of the refrigerator lining.

The ice shelf which is shown in cross section in Figure 3 and which is indicated in its entirety at B is formed of a single piece of sheet metal which is bent over to provide a bottom 28 and a top 29 and a pair of side members 30 and 31 formed integral therewith. These members are bent over as clearly indicatedand have the two extreme ends welded together at 32 to form a continuous construction. When the shelf B is positionedwithin the refrigerator the bottom 28 rests parallel to the bottom 19 of the whieh iswelded or firmly secured to they upper portion 29 of shelf Bub-ut-which passes loosely through an opening 134 formed in the lower portion 28 of s'aid' shelfi' The side 31 of the shelf B extends above the top 29 and is folded back upon 'it's'elft'o form a raised ridge indicated at 34. I This ridg'e serves to hold the ice tray carried i the shelf, which is'not shown .in this draw;

ing, from sliding off from the same and also serves to direct the'water collected on'lthe saidshelf into the'drain 33. y

The manner of attaching shelf B to the refrigerator is as follows. Ahorizontal 234 corresponding to the cross section ofthe shelf B 'is'cut into the rear wall ofthe blank A as clearly indicated in Figure 5. Shelf B after being bent up and welded to gether at 32 is inserted into the opening 34 so that the edges of said shelf project through said opening and lie flush with the outer surfaces of the rear wall 15. 'In'this position the edges of said shelf are welded from the exterior of the lining direct to the edges of rear wall 15 of the shell A adj acent the opening 234, thusintegrally connecting said shelf with the rear wall of the lining proper. At the front of said shelf the same is made with an upturned flange 35 which has a lip 36 issuing from the upper edge thereof which lip is in conjunction with the rectangular enclosure for the opening into the ice chamber of the refrigerator. Shelf B is secured to the front of the refrigerator by means of the flange 35 which is welded to the upright 21 at 37 and is welded to the edge of the side 16 of the lining member A at 38. Further the bottom 28 of said shelf extends outwardly at 39 to form a lip which is adapted to cooperate with the lips 26, 27 and 17 to form the enclosure for the lowermost opening into the refrigerator. Said lower shelf 28 is further welded to the upright 21 at 40 and to the edge of lip 17 at 41 so that the entire shelf is integrally connected to the entire lining forming a single unit.

As will best be seen in Figure 3, shelf member B is so positioned as to leave a space 42 between the-end wall 30 and wall 16 of lining member A. This space serves to fpermit circulation'of air. through the .ice

chamber and into the food compartment be low the same. To prevent any condensation collected on the interior of wall 16 within the ice chamber proper from following along down the same and being discharged within the food compartment we provide above shelf B a deflector 43 whichextends completely across the lining between the lip 17 and the rear wall 15 of the same and which is attached to the wall 16 thereof. This-deflector is spaced above the shelf B but extends outwardly from 'wall"16 and 'over' the surface of said shelf so as to collect :all the "water of condensation which is dewgposited on wall 16 and to discharge the same upon the ice shelf Bwhere the same may be drained through drain 33 and removed from the refrigerator. In attaching the deflector 43 tothe refrigerator we provide'a slot 44 extending through the walls 15 and 16 of the device. Deflector 43 is then inserted this slot with its edges lying flush with the exterior" surface of said walls. In this positionthe edges of the same are welded to the edges 'of the walls of the lining from the exterior of the device so that the entire construction is formed integral.

"Afte'r'the refrigerator has been welded up as indicated and the rough spots ground down smooth the same is preferably coated with acoating of enamel which is fused or baked on, the coating extending over all of the exposed surface within the refrigerator lining so that a single unit of perfect cleanliness and sanitation is provided. It can clearly be seen that there are no crevices or obscure corners in which .dirt or other debris may lodge to cause vodors or in any other way render the lining unsanitary. It will further be noted that an air space 128 exists between the top and bottom of the ice shelf, which space extends completely through the refrigerator lining so that the same may be readily filled with insulating material if the same is desired. I have, however, found that this device operates quite efiiciently without any insulating material other than the air space.

In Figure 4 we have shown a detail sketch of our improved lining as installed in a casing of ordinary construction. This casing comprises a front stile 45 and a front mullion 46 which are attached to a side wall 147 of ordinary double construction. Wall member 16 of lining member A is so designed that the lip 17 formed thereon overlaps the end of the stile 45. In a similar manner the upright 21 is so designed that the lips 25 and 24 formed thereon overlap mullion 46. To completely enclose mullion 46 in the stile 45 we employ an edging strip 47 which in the ice chamber opening is preferably formed of metal and which is formed in the shape of an angle having an exceed tioned in spaced i'elation to one another and to the side walls 16 so as to leave the space 42 between said shelf and side wall for the circulation of air as before referred to. In place of the ower-lapping raised portion 34 indicated in Figure 3, the edge of shelf 50 is turned up at 52 to form a guard serving the same purpose. We have found that even with the ends of the ice chamber open as indicated in Figure 6 that the airspace formed between the two shelves serves to sufficiently insulate the upper and lower shelves so that no condensation is collected on the lower shelf 51 and the food compartment is hence kept free from condensation.

The advantages of our invention are manifest. A one piece refrigerator lining is provided which is extremely rigid and substantial construction and which will never open up or come apart in its joints due to heat stresses or rough usage. In addition to this the entire interior of the lining may be completely covered with a coating of enamel which maybe fused or baked on so as to provide a perfectly sanitary and smooth surface. With the type of shelf used in the preferred form of theinvention no crevices or pockets are provided in which dirt or other dbris may collect sothat the refrigerator is at all times kept perfectly clean and sanitary.

In accordance with the patent statutes we have described the principles of operation of our invention, together with the apparatus which we now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but we desire to have it understood that the construction shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set forth within the scope of the following claims.

l/Ve claim 1. A refrigerator lining comprising a rear wall, a slot in said wall, a shelf 'extending through said slot with its edge flush with surface of said wall, said shelf and wall being welded to one another at the edges of said slot and shelf from the exterior of the device.

2. A refrigerator lining c pmprising a rear wall, a hollow shelf membersecured to said rear wall and an air space formed within said .hollow shelf member andextending completely through said'rear wall.

3. A refrigerator lining comprising a wall,

a shelf formed of sheet metal, a slot in said wall of a width equal to thethickness' of said shelf, said shelf extending through said slot with the end thereof terminating in the exterior plane of said wall, said shelf and wall being welded together along said slot and the end of said shelf.

4. A refrigerator lining comprising a rear wall, an ice shelf formed of a single sheet of material bent over to "provide a hollow.

shelf open at two ends, the ends of said sheet being welded together at a pair of coincident edges, an opening formed in said rear wall through which one of the said open ends of said ice shelf may be inserted to allow the edges of said shelf and rear wall to be welded together from the exterior of the lining.

, 5. A refrigerator lining comprising a rear wall, an open shelf formed of a single sheet of material, integrally connected together to provide a continuous air space through the same, an opening in the rear wall of said lining registerin with the air space of said shelf and a ange formed on the other end of said shelf, to form the portion of a wall, parallel with said rear wall.

6. A refrigerator lining comprising a rear wall, an ice shelf formed of a single sheet of material integrally connected together to provide a continuous air space passing through the same, an opening in said rear wall of said lining adapted to register with the air space of said shelf.

7. A refrigerator lining comprising rear and side walls, a hollow shelf member having an air space passing completely through the same, secured to said rear wall and spaced from the side wall and opening at said rear wall, registering with said air space.

8. A refrigerator lining comprisingrear and side walls, and being open at the front, a mullion positioned in the open front thereof, an ice shelf formed of a single sheet of material bent over to provide an airspace within the same, forming a horizontal bottom and an. inclined top, an opening in said back and a notch in said mullion in which said ice shelf may bepositioned so that the edges thereof may be welded to the edges of said mullion and back, and an upturned flange formed on the top of said ice shelf to form a portion of the front wall of the ]lining adjacent the opening to the ice chamer. In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

WALTER e. SEEGER. GUSTAVE R. SEEGER.

Ill 

